The 2004 Season Colloquium -- "The Ethics of Power and Kingship in Shakespeare's Universe: Holding the Mirror Up to Ours"

Using Shakespeare's Richard II and Macebth as its focus and catalyst, 2004's Colloquium examined the Bard's lifelong obsession with the “ethics of the throne”. Nearly a third of Shakespeare's canon grapples with issues of leadership, political corruption, the abuse of power and the dangers of unbridled ambition. So often, his expeditions into this realm lead to resolutions that advocate reason, balance, tolerance, honesty and prudent compromise. In many cases, such as that of Macbeth or Richard II, his errant leaders meet their demise; in other plays, the lessons of adversity lead to enlightenment and change, and the wayward rulers are transformed and restored.

Throughout the ages, political crises have made for exciting theatre. Elizabethans viewed the misuse of power as having tragic, far-reaching implications that disturbed not just society itself, but also the natural order of the universe. Our 18th biennial Shakespeare Colloquium not only examined Macbeth and Richard II from their own historical contexts, but also from the Elizabethan point of view. In holding “as ‘twere the mirror up to nature,” we hoped to reveal, as always, the significance of those history plays and Shakespeare's thoughts as they relate to our own time.

The Ethics of Power and Kingship in Shakespeare's Universe was presented in conjunction with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Main Stage production of Macbeth. Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte directed Shakespeare's tragic tale of lust for power and the corruption and destruction that such desire unleashes.

• A. R. Braunmuller, Ph.D., a professor of English at UCLA.
• Catherine M.A. McCauliff, Ph.D., J.D. a professor of Law at Seton Hall University.
• Richard McCoy, Ph.D., a professor of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center at CUNY.
• Phyllis Rackin, Ph.D., a professor emerita of English at the University of Pennsylvania.

The 2002 Season Colloquium -- "The Alchemy of the Spirit: Shakespeare's Grand Magic"

Using Shakespeare’s The Tempest as the focus, 2002's Colloquium explored not only the ancient art of alchemy as an allegory for the making of theatre, but also the grander more significant alchemy of Shakespeare’s Romance plays, where the power of goodness and all things pure are able to transform the darker realms of the human psyche.

Alchemy was the ancient art and "science" concerned with the transmutation of base metals into gold. Throughout history, alchemy has long held a relationship with the supernatural, the magical, and the superstitious. Our 17^th biennial Colloquium addressed the many relationships between the art of alchemy and the art of theatre, looking at the origins of alchemy, its historical context, and its uses and impact on theatre and other art forms.

Alchemy of the Spirit: Shakespeare’s Grand Magic was presented in conjunction with the Theatre's Main Stage production of The Tempest. Company resident artist Brian B. Crowe, who gave us 2001’s exuberant production of The Comedy of Errors, directed this tragi-comic allegory that sparkled with magic and visual splendor.

• Michael Basile, Ph.D., an assistant professor of English at New Jersey City University.
• Jeffrey Fiske, Ph.D., a professor in the Arts and Letters program at Drew University.
• Deborah Harkness, Ph.D., a professor in the History program at the University of California-Davis.
• Stanton J. Linden, Ph.D., a Professor of English emeritus at Washington State University.
• William Sherman, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of English at the University of Maryland and Associate Editor of The Shakespeare Quarterly.

The 2000 Season Colloquium -- "Those Shakespeare Left In His Wake"

• Jeffrey Fiske, Ph.D., a Professor in the Master/Doctor of Letters program at Drew University in Madison, NJ
• Harry Keyishian, Ph.D., Director of Fairleigh Dickinson University Press and Professor of English at the Florham/Madison campus of FDU
• Naomi Conn Liebler, Ph.D., a Professor of English at Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, NJ
• Bonnie J. Monte, Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
• Patrick Spottiswoode, Director of Education at the Globe Theatre in London

The 2000 Colloquium was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a State Partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The 1999 Colloquium -- "Shakespeare in Performance"

The 1999 Colloquium was presented in conjunction with Drew University.

• John Russel Brown, Middlesex University
• Tony Church, actor and founding member of The Royal Shakespeare Company
• Jay Halio, University of Delaware
• Harry Keyishian, Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Ralph Berry, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Herbert Coursen, University of Maine
• June Schlueter, Lafayette College
• James Lusardi, The Shakespeare Bulletin
• Marvin Rosenberg, University of California, Berkley
• James Bulman, Allegheny College and The Shakespeare Association of America
• Pauline Kiernan, Shakespeare’s Globe International
• Alan Dessen, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and ACTER

• Michael Feingold, Drama Critic for the "Village Voice"
• Mimi Kramer, Theatre Critic for "The New Yorker"
• Barbara Ann Lukacs, Ph.D., Theatre Reviewer for "The Shakespeare Bulletin"
• Peter Saccio, Professor of Shakespearean Studies at Dartmouth College, author Shakespeare’s English Kings
• Gary Taylor, Director of the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies at the University of Alabama

• Kate Buckley, founding member of Chicago’s Shakespeare Repertory
• Irene G. Dash, Professor at Hunter College-CUNY, author of Wooing, Wedding and Power: Women in Shakespeare’s Plays
• Richard Goldman, Ph.D., Indiana University
• Coppelia Kahn, Professor of English at Brown University, author of Making a Difference: Feminist Literary Criticism

• Libby Appel, Artistic Director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre, co-author of Shakespeare’s Women and Shakespeare’s Lovers
• Lynda Boose, Professor of Shakespeare, Renaissance English Literature and Women’s Studies at Dartmouth College
• Lawrence Danson, Professor of English at Princeton University, author of On King Lear, The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice, and Tragic Alphabet: Shakespeare’s Drama of Language
• Jean Paterson, Assistant Professor of English at Bucknell University, contributor to "The Shakespeare Bulletin"

• Ann Jennalie Cook, Professor of English at Vanderbilt University, author of The Privileged Playgoers of Shakespeare’s London
• Cary M. Mazer, Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Theatre Arts Program at the University of Pennsylvania, author of Shakespeare Refashioned: Elizabethan Plays on Edwardian Stage
• Tina Packer, Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company
• Patrick Spottiswoode, Director of Globe Education, the education arm of ISGC Ltd.